With the colder temperatures arriving within the community, city officials urge the public to report any vagrants they might witness entering an abandoned or vacant structure. Many accidental fires are started by vagrants inside such properties as they attempt to keep warm in the colder temperatures.
“As we enter into these colder months, we start to see an uptick in house and business fires due to vagrants and homeless people going in to try to keep warm,” said Alderman Jammie McCoy. “We have been blessed where we haven’t had anyone get hurt. But we need to be vigilant as a community. If you see something out of place, call law enforcement.”
Fire Chief Ricky Harris said his department has already responded to a few fire calls that he believes originated by vagrants. Such an issue became a big problem last winter season when a handful of properties were lost due to accidental fires started by vagrants.
“Arson will not be tolerated in Yazoo,” Harris said. “If you get caught, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent,” Harris said.
Interim Police Chief Patrick Jaco said his department has visited some abandoned structure within the city after reports to the police department. He said he would be reaching out to the Yazoo City Municipal School District concerning the former junior high school building. The former site of the local Boys and Girls Club has been a squatting ground for vagrants.
“It appears that multiple people are staying in there,” Jaco said. “There have been multiple fires lit in there on the top floors. I intend to get with the school district on properly sealing up that building. There are multiple entrances that need to be sealed.”
The Yazoo Herald published a previous story, exploring the connection with vagrants and property fires. Yazoo City citizens and business owners said they were concerned over the growing number of vagrants and homeless people within the community. Although vagrancy and homelessness have always been an issue within the city, many reported seeing a recent influx.
Among one of the issues that is associated with the problem, there was a growing concern over the increase in fires of many of the city’s abandoned and dilapidated properties. In some cases, if not most, the fires were started by accident or on purpose by many of the community’s vagrants.
Citizens are urged to contact the police department at 662-746-1131 if they notice vagrants occupying abandoned or vacant structures.
